The founder of WikiLeaks, Julian Assange, marries Wednesday March 23 with one of his former lawyers, Stella Moris, at the British maximum security prison, from where he continues to fight against his extradition to the United States.
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The couple will marry in a small committee with only four guests and two witnesses.
But their supporters are invited to come to the outskirts of Belmarsh prison in south-east London, dressed as if to participate in the wedding.
British designer Vivienne Westwood, very committed to the release of Julian Assange, designed the kilt he will wear on this occasion - in reference to his Scottish origins - as well as Stella Moris' wedding dress, according to the support group Don 't Extradite Assange.
Caught in a long legal saga, the 50-year-old Australian is wanted by the American courts who want to try him for the dissemination, from 2010, of more than 700,000 classified documents on American military and diplomatic activities, in particular in Iraq. and in Afghanistan.
Prosecuted in particular under legislation against espionage, Julian Assange faces 175 years in prison, in a case denounced by human rights organizations as a serious attack on the freedom of the press.
On March 14, he saw one of his last hopes of avoiding his extradition disappear, with the refusal of the British Supreme Court to examine his appeal.
"Political Affair"
His partner, a South African lawyer in her 30s, has since pleaded with UK Home Secretary Priti Patel to approve his extradition, prevent it and end it. to this "
political affair
".
Julian Assange and Stella Moris first met in 2011 when the lawyer was hired to join the legal team fighting the extradition of Julian Assange.
Their engagement was announced in November 2021.
Stella Moris had two children with Julian Assange, two little boys conceived when he was living at the Ecuadorian Embassy in London.
The founder of WikiLeaks spent seven years in this embassy, where he took refuge in 2012 while he was on bail.
He then feared extradition to the United States or Sweden, where he was the subject of rape proceedings since abandoned.
He was finally arrested by British police in April 2019 and imprisoned.
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“
Julian is looking forward to the wedding because it is finally taking place, several months after we first made the request
” to the prison authorities, his partner told the PA agency.
Following the wedding ceremony, Stella Moris will cut a wedding cake and deliver a speech, the Julian Assange Support Group has said.
She also launched a fundraiser to contribute to the legal costs intended to prevent his extradition, which had collected more than 177,000 pounds sterling on Tuesday (212,000 euros).
Rather than send gifts to the newlyweds, their supporters have suggested participating in this fundraiser and displaying posters calling for the release of the Australian.
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